Continuing a legacy
Knights of Columbus hope to breathe new life into historic council
A revival is underway for one of the oldest Knights of Columbus councils in the archdiocese.
Just in the past three months, the Knights of St. Thomas More Church in Fairview have welcomed a multitude of new members into their fold. On January 19th, eight new members entered the Knights of Columbus Council #3131, and an additional six men joined through a second exemplification ceremony on March 2nd. Over the initial weeks of 2025, the council held their first meeting and first after-Mass brunch in over four years. They are now looking to do some much-needed fundraising for the parish.
It paints a much different picture of a council that had been at a virtual standstill since 2020. At one time, Fairview’s Council #3131 counted hundreds of men in its ranks and received high honours like the Star Council Award. In later years membership decreased and, with the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Fairview council went on an indefinite hiatus. In terms of gaining new members and holding meetings, it was almost totally inactive.
But now long-time Knights like Ed Miller and Gerard Becher are grateful to see the council experience a resurgence in interest after a long lull and period of uncertainty. They hope it means there is a future for one of the archdiocese’s oldest and most revered Knights of Columbus councils.
“It’s nice to see people getting involved again, especially the young people,” said Gerard, who has been a Knight with the council for 40 years. “Over the years it had sort of fallen by the way side and there’s only a few of us older guys left. So it’s good to see young people getting involved and bringing their energy and willingness. It seems that it’s coming back to life, and with new members it will hopefully continue now for some time.”
76-year-old Ed Miller has kept a continual record and archive of the Fairview council and all of the men who have served as Knights throughout the decades. He proudly notes it was a council known for being exemplary in membership and witness. As the preserver of his council’s history, he too is encouraged by the turn around made possible in recent months.
“It is rewarding, because we were stalled here for the past few years,” said Miller.
“We had so many members pass away, others relocate out of the community, and after a while there was only a handful of us left, and your determination can waver with time. But the recent exemplification ceremony is a step in the right direction.
“The biggest thing is we’ve got a priest who is very proactive and he’s been a real blessing as far as getting people involved, committed and energized.”
Fr. Michael Dias, who became the parish priest at St. Thomas More Church last September, has played the pivotal role in bringing in new members, particularly from the younger Filipino parishioners of the church. He has also encouraged some long-time parishioners to consider taking an active role with the Knights.
“We’ve asked people in the past if they would join the Knights, and often they would shrug their shoulders or say ‘Maybe’. But Fr. Michael would ask them again and again, and soon enough they gave in,” Gerard added with a laugh. “I went to visit my uncle in long-term care just recently and he told me, ‘A funny thing happened last Saturday night. I went to Mass and I came out a Knight of Columbus’.”
When Fr. Michael arrived at the church last fall, some of the elder knights made it known to him that, while St. Thomas More had a Knights of Columbus council, they had not met since 2020. As well, when the priest was preparing for his move to Fairview, some of the Fourth Degree Knights of the archdiocese had shared with him their hopes that he may be able to help reignite the St. Thomas More council.
With all this in mind, Fr. Michael soon got to work on reaching out to young men of the parish and inviting them to consider serving their church as a Brother Knight.
This is only an excerpt. Read the full story in the March 2025 edition of Northern Light
